(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hood locking apparatus for motor vehicles, and more particularly to a hood locking apparatus which is adapted to prevent a remote control cable from coming out of engagement with a base plate engaging portion of a locking mechanism.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 1-4 show a conventional commonly-used hood locking apparatus for motor vehicles, of the rear opening type, which comprises: a striker 2 centrally located on the bottom side and at the front edge of the vehicle's hood F, a locking mechanism 1 having a latch 4, disposed on the vehicle body B, and capable of being engaged and disengaged by the striker 2, and a remote control cable 8 connecting the latch 4 with an opening lever (not shown). The opening lever is operable from inside the vehicle for manually disengaging the latch 4 from the striker 2 upon pulling on the remote control cable 8, thereby causing a lever 5 of the locking mechanism 1 to lift and the striker 2 to flip upwards.
As shown in these figures, the locking mechanism 1 comprises a base plate 10 having mounting end portions 10a and 10b for attachment to the vehicle body, a latch 4 and the lift lever 5 which are both journaled to the base plate 10 by means of respective fixing pins 12 and 14. A spring 16 is provided between the latch 4 and the lift lever 5 for urging the latch 4 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 2) on the one hand, and the lift lever 5 in a counterclockwise direction on the other hand to enable them to pinch and hold the striker 2 in a locked position upon the closure of the hood. The remote control cable 8 consists of a synthetic resin flexible outer tube 20 and a steel inner wire 22. The outer tube 20 is provided with a holder portion 24 at one end thereof so as to be engageable with a notch 10d defined at an elevational face 10c following the mounting end portion 10a of the base plate 10. The inner wire has its end 22a hooked to a curved upper end portion 4a of the latch 4.
Such a conventional hood locking apparatus, however, is disadvantageous in that the remote control cable 8 sometimes tends to come out of engagement with the base plate 10 as a result of a softened or worn holder portion 24 of the outer tube 20 due to hot air in the engine room or impact during repetitive engagement. In some arrangements, the outer tube 20, while the wire 22 is being pulled, moves to resume its original shape, or the inner wire 22 inclines with rotation of the latch 4, thereby applying a moment force on the holder portion 24 which facilitates disengagement of the holder portion 24.
In the event that the holder portion 24 is disengaged from the base plate 10, it would be no longer possible to open the hood F. Present, there is no immediate remedy available to the above especially with a rear opening type hood.